| Word |
Definition |
| Canto | division of a long poem |
| Canvass | to solicit votes; to examine carefully |
| Capacious | spacious |
| Capacity | mental or physical ability; role; ability to accommodate |
| Capillary | having a very fine bore |
| Capitulate | to surrender |
| Caprice | whim |
| Capricious | unpredictable; fickle |
| Caption | title; chapter heading; text under illustration |
| Captious | faultfinding |
| Carafe | glass water bottle; decanter |
| Carapace | shell covering the back (of turtle, crab) |
| Carat | unit of weight for precious stones; measure of fineness of gold |
| Carcinogenic | causing cancer |
| Cardinal | chief |
| Cardiologist | doctor specializing in ailments of the heart |
| Careen | to lurch; sway from side to side |
| Caricature | distortion; burlesque |
| Carillon | a set of bells capable of being played |
| Carnage | destruction of life |
| Carnal | fleshly |
| Carnivorous | meat-eating |
| Carousal | drunken revel |
| Carping | petty criticism; fault-finding |
| Carrion | rotting flesh of a dead body |
| Cartographer | map-maker |
| Cascade | small waterfall |
| Caste | one of the hereditary classes in Hindu society; social stratification; prestige |
| Castigation | punishment; severe criticism |
| Casualty | serious or fatal accident |
| Cataclysm | deluge; upheaval |
| Catalyst | agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged |
| Catapult | slingshot; hurling machine |
| Cataract | great waterfall; eye abnormality |
| Catastrophe | calamity; disaster |
| Catcall | shout of disapproval; boo |
| Catechism | book for religious instruction |
| Categorical | without exceptions; unqualified; absolute |
| Catharsis | purging or cleansing of any passage of the body |
| Cathartic | purgative |
| Catholic | universal; wide-ranging liberal |
| Caucus | private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy |
| Caulk | to make watertight (by plugging seams) |
| Causal | implying a cause-and-effect relationship |
| Caustic | burning; sarcastically biting |
| Cauterize | to burn with hot iron or caustic |
| Cavalcade | procession; parade |
| Cavalier | casual and offhand; arrogant |
| Cavil | to make frivolous objections |
| Cede | yield to; surrender formally |
| Celerity | speed; rapidity |
| Celestial | heavenly |
| Celibate | abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried |
| Censor | overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter |
| Censorious | critical |
| Censure | to blame; to criticize |
| Centaur | mythical figure, half man half horse |
| Centigrade | denoting a widely used temperature scale |
| Centrifuge | machine that separates substances by whirling them |
| Centripetal | tending toward the center |
| Centurion | Roman army officer |
| Cerebral | pertaining to the brain or intellect |
| Cerebration | thought |
| Ceremonious | marked by formality |
| Certitude | certainty |
| Cessation | stoppage |
| Cession | yielding to another; ceding |
| Chafe | to warm by rubbing <chafe cold hands>;
to wear or abrade by rubbing;
make sore by rubbing |
| Chaff | worthless matter; refuse |
| Chaffing | bantering; joking |
| Chagrin | distress caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure |
| Chalice | goblet; consecrated cup |
| Chameleon | lizard that changes color in different situations |
